Our Lady of Porta Vaga
| Our Lady of Solitude of Porta Vaga Nuestra Señora de la Soledad de Porta Vaga Birhen ng soledad ng Porta Vaga | |
|---|---|
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Original Bejeweld Painting of Our Lady of Solitude of Porta Vaga | |
| Luz de Filipinas, Reina de Cavite, La Celestial Guardiana y Protectora de la Provincia de Cavite y su Puerto, La Excelsa Patrona de la Ciudad y Provincia de Cavite | |
| Venerated in |
Roman Catholic Church Philippine Independent Church |
| Major shrine |
San Roque Church, Cavite City, Philippines |
| Feast | 2nd and 3rd Sunday of November |
| Patronage | Province of Cavite, Cavite City Patroness of Galleons, Seafarers, Caviteño people |
Our Lady of Solitude of Porta Vaga (Spanish: Nuestra Señora de la Soledad de Porta Vaga), or commonly Our Lady of Porta Vaga, is the Patroness of the Cavite province in the Philippines.
The icon, which depicts the Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Solitude, is enshrined at San Roque Church in Cavite City. The devotion to Our Lady of Porta Vaga is one of the famous Marian devotions in the Philippines.[1]
Titles
The icon has received several titles in its history, including "Queen of Cavite" and "Exalted Patroness and the Celestial Guardian and Protectress of the Province of Cavite and its Port" (Spanish: "Reina de Cavite", "La Excelsa Patrona y La Celestial Guardiana y Protectora de la Provincia de Cavite y su Puerto"). .
The icon was used to bless departing trade galleons plying the route between Cavite and Acapulco, Mexico, earning her the title "Patroness of the Galleons", while stories of its miraculous powers thus earned it the title, "The Virgin of Thousand Miracles".
Description
The Blessed Virgin Mary is depicted as garbed in black and white, kneeling as she contemplates the instruments of her Son's Passion. Before her are the crown of thorns and the nails.[2] The icon is painted on a canvas framed in carved wood. The painting itself is set in gold and silver accouterments with precious gems that are ex votos from her devotees.
An inscription found at the back of the painting says: "A doze de Abril 1692 años Juan Oliba puso esta Stma. Ymagen Haqui" ("On 12 of April 1692, Juan Oliba placed this most holy image here"). It is considered an invaluable treasure inherited by the Caviteños, and is the oldest extant dated Marian painting in the Philippines.
History
A legend narrates that during the Spanish colonial era, at the peak of Cavite's economic prosperity because of the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade, a small detachment of the Spanish Guardia Civil was stationed at a garita (little garrison, or sentry post) located at the Vaga Gate of the Cavite Port, at the end of the isthmus separating it from Barrio San Roque.
One stormy night, a Spanish sentinel was at his post when he saw a bright, shifting light. A dazzling apparition rose from the currents of Cañacao Bay and startling the sentry, who surmised that the light came from pirates out to raid the port.
Frightened, the sentinel shouted, "¡Alto! ¡Alto!" ("Halt! Halt!"). Instead of stopping, the light went towards him. Hence, in a loud voice he asked, "¿Quién vive?" ("Who is there?").
He then heard a sweet and melodious voice reply,
"Soldadito, ¿por qué el alto me das en noche tan fría? Dame paso. ¿No conoces a María?"
("Little Soldier, why halt me on a night so cold? Give me passage. You do not recognise Mary?")
The awestruck and confused sentinel humbly repented.
"Perdóname, Virgen María, Reina de mi devoción; pues solo soy un soldado que cumplo mi obligación!"
("Forgive me, Virgin Mary, Queen of my devotion; for I am but a soldier that complieth with my duty!")
The following morning, fisherman and workers at the Cavite Royal Arsenal passed through the Vaga Gate and found a framed image of the Virgin on the beach along Cañacao Bay, near the place of her apparition the night before. They brought the painting to the parish priest, who temporarily installed it in the parish church. Eventually, the Ermita de Porta Vaga (Chapel of Vaga Gate) was built along the port's walls, and for three centuries served as the shrine of Our Lady of Solitude.
In 1929, a new parish priest, Fr. Pedro Lerena y Lerena of Logroño, Spain, was assigned to the Cavite Port. At the same time, he was appointed Rector of the Ermita. His great dedication to the cause of Our Lady of Porta Vaga saw the beautification and the improvement of the Ermita through the years.
During the Second World War, Fr. Lerena rescued the icon from a junkyard that the Imperial Japanese Army had thrown it in. The image first stayed in the Arzobispado (Archbishop's Palace) in Intramuros before it was deposited in the vaults of the Philippine National Bank for safekeeping.
The icon returned to Cavite after the Allied liberation of the islands in 1945, re-enshrined at its home in the San Roque Church because the Ermita was destroyed by bombardment during the war. Fr. Lerena served as the icon's guardian until his death in 1972.
Coronation
Through the joint efforts of Msgr. Baraquiel Mojica, former parish priest of San Roque, and Bishop Felix Pérez of the Diocese of Imus, the miraculous icon was canonically crowned on November 17, 1978 by Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Bruno Torpigliani, D.D., during the reign of St. John Paul II- the first Philippine Marian image crowned during his pontificate. The existence of a papal bull for the coronation is disputed, as no records of Pontifical authorization to crown the image also exist in Rome. Nevertheless, a Pontifical High Mass was offered in her honour at Binondo Church in Manila, followed by a concert featuring the works of the National Artist Lucio San Pedro. Devotion to the image gave the Caviteños the opportunity to show their art skills.
Theft and return
On March 16, 1984, the icon of the Virgin was sacrilegiously stolen from its altar. After tedious months of search, it was recovered on the Feast of the Assumption, August 15, 1984, albeit divested of all its original gilding and precious stones. Every effort was made by devotees to restore the image to its former glory, and on August 19, 1984, it was re-enshrined in the altar amidst much rejoicing.
Miracles
Countless miracles have been attributed to the Virgen de la Soledad. Her mysterious apparition and the unexplained arrival of her image were initial revelations of her miraculous reign. During the terrible typhoon in 1830, a fire caused by lightning bolt hit the wooden altar of the Ermita and razed the chapel to the ground, but the image of the Virgin remained intact among the ashes. In 1856, another terrible typhoon flooded the houses, churches and public buildings within the Port but the Ermita, as well as its patio were found dry so the people took refuge in the Church. In 1857, a Spanish frigate based in Cavite was caught by a violent typhoon off the coast of Albay province and was stranded for 20 days after running aground. The crew prayed before an image of the Soledad. She appeared before them that night and the tide rose higher and the wind began to blow, thus releasing the frigate free from its rocky trap. There have been other miracles attributed to the Virgin with the passing of the years including present day accounts of healings, families reunited and family problems solved.
Devotion
Our Lady of Solitude of Porta Vaga is one of the most venerated Marian images in Cavite. Her feast is celebrated every second and third Sunday of November in Cavite City. She is also associated with annual Lenten rites and the All Saints-All Souls Day observances where she is alluded to in Tagalog as "Ináng Mágkakandila" (Mother Candlemaker). The image celebrated the Pearl Jubilee of its coronation 2008 and the Silver Jubilee of its return the following year.
The Cofradia de la Virgen de la Soledad de Porta Vaga, presently led by Rev. Fr. Virgilio Saenz Mendoza and Jonnell Ryan I. Enriquez, heads the devotees of Our Lady. It was established in August 1998 through the efforts of the late Antonio G. Nazareno and then-Bishop Manuel B. Sobrevinias. Devotees include Overseas Filipino Workers and other foreign nationals who flock to the country to join the Porta Vaga Festival.
Replicas of the Ynang Nag-Iisa ("Ináng Nag-iisá" in modern Tagalog), are also venerated in San Isidro, Nueva Ecija; Camba in Tondo, Manila; San Carlos, Pangasinan and Buhi, Camarines Sur.
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The Nuestra Señora de la Soledad of San Isidro Labrador Parish Church in San Isidro, Nueva Ecija
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Nuestra Señora de la Soledad de Manila, Camba, Tondo, Manila
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Soledad of Buhi, Camarines Sur
Hymn
In 1892, Julian Felipe, composer of the Philippine national anthem, penned the hymn "Reina de Cavite" on the occasion of her fiesta and the opening of the Exposición Regionál Caviteña (Cavite Regional Exposition).. The lyrics were taken from the poem Himno a la Virgén de Cavite (Hymn to the Virgin of Cavite) by Fr. Tomás de Andrade, the rector of the Jesuit College of Cavite sometime in 1689.[3][4]
Lyrics:
|
Original Poem |
Reina de Cavite |
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Reina de Cavite La nacion entera Como la heroina Madre immaculada |
Reina de Cavite per siempre seras: Madre Immaculada, prez del serafin, |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Our Lady of Porta Vaga. |
See also
References
- ↑ Aluit, Alphonso J. (1969). "The Galleon Guide to Philippine Festivals", p. 97. SIN B004CWODBO.
- ↑ Panlilio, Erlinda Enriquez (2003). "Consuming passions: Philippine collectibles", pg. 70. Jaime C. Laya. ISBN 9712714004.
- ↑ Romanillos, Emmanuel Luis A. (2006). "Chabacano studies: essays on Cavite's Chabacano language and literature", pg. 125. Cavite Historical Society.
- ↑ Delos Reyes, Aloma Monte (1994). "Sto. Niǹo de Molino Bacoor, Canite 1984-1994: the making of a parish", pg. 139. Parish of Sto. Nino de Molino, Bacoor, Cavite.
Other references
- Barcelona, Mary Anne. Ynang Maria: A Celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Philippines. Edited by Consuelo B. Estepa, P.D. Pasig City: Anvil Publishing, Inc., 2004.
- Cavite Studies Center-De La Salle University Dasmariñas. CAVITE Cultura e Historia. Edited by Teresita P. Unabia and Victor Immanuel R. Cuarto. Cavite: Cavite Historical Society, Inc., 2002.
- Almanaque de N.S. del rosario, 1946, p. 284.
- Archdiocesan Archives of Manila: (Document Nos. 92 LGE1C9 1751-1752A; 109-10, LGE 1010 1767-1771; 182, LGE 1 C 8 - 1750 1742 A; 250, LGE 1 C 9 - 1747 1756; 294, LGE 1 C 9 - 1751-1752 A; 321, LGE 1 C 8 - 1737 1742; 436, Libro del Govierno Ecclesiastico 1 C 8 1737 - 1750; SV4A1 1805 - 1806 A; 475, 522, 960 LGE 1010 1767 - 1771; and 20 S V 4aL 1786 - 87 B)
- Avellanedad, Miguel. Catologo de Los Religiosos de la Orden Agustinos Recoletos, 1606-1636.
- Don Gervacio Pangilinan. Historica de Cavite, mss.
- Aviado, Lutgarda. Madona of the Philippines. [n.imp.]
- Braganza, Jose Vicente, SVD. Early Church History of Cavite: Dominicans, Recoletos and Filipino Secular Clergy. DIWA Studies in Philosophy and Theology. Vol. VIII No. 1, Tagaytay City: Graduate School of Divine Word Seminary.
- Jose, Regalado Trota, The Eight Churches of Cavite Puerto (1586-1900). Philippine Quarterly of culture and Society. 1987.
- Fernandez, Antonio J., Algunos Milagros Hechos Por Nuestra Señora, La Virgen de la Soledad de Porta Vaga- Patronas del Pueblo de Cavite. Programas de las Fiestas Generales de Cavite, 1932, pp. 11–15.
- German, Alfredo, Our Lady of Solitude: Facts and Legend". Souvenir Program Cavite Fiesta, 1964.
- Nuestra Señora de la Soledad: The Mystical Madonna of Camba. The Manila Digest, Vol. 2, No.3, Manila: Archdiocese of Manila, April 1990. pp. 11–12.
- Samonte, Godofredo, Odyssey of the Virgin. Souvenir Program Cavite Fiesta, 1964.
- San Agustin, Narciso La Tradicional Fiesta de Cavite. Souvenir Program, Cavite Fiesta, 1949.
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